The present invention relates to on-hold messaging for telephone systems, and particularly but not exclusively, for business telephone systems.
When a business receives telephone calls, the caller is often put on hold awaiting further disposition. Before on-hold messaging was developed, callers were forced to listen to silence while they were on hold. Callers often got bored or frustrated if they were kept on hold for any length of time, sometimes to the point of hanging up. On-hold messaging systems were developed, at least in part, to solve this problem. With such systems, pre-recorded messages are played as the caller remains on hold. These messages have been in the form of music for the caller""s listening pleasure and in the form of advertisements to provide the caller with information about the business. Because of the popularity of on-hold messaging, most business telephone systems available today have been designed to include on-hold messaging capabilities. These business telephone systems often include an on-hold input jack, usually referred to as a music on-hold (MOH) port. Previously, the audio output of a magnetic audio tape player was connected directly to the on-hold input jack. Typically, the messages were recorded onto endless loop cassette tapes. Once connected in this manner to the telephone system, the tape player is turned on and the endless loop cassette tape is played continuously. When a caller is put on hold, the tape player""s audio output is connected to the caller""s telephone receiver so that the caller hears the on-hold message or messages (i.e., music and/or advertisements). There are a number of problems associated with such on-hold messaging systems.
When used for on-hold messaging purposes, endless loop audio cassette tapes and the tape decks used to play them are prone to malfunctioning, usually from various types of mechanical failure. Such mechanical failures result in the on-hold messaging system being non-functional until the tape and/or the deck can be replaced or repaired. These tapes and decks are relatively expensive to replace or repair. The endless loop cassette tapes are typically played continuously for extended periods of time. The tapes are known to stretch, break, or just wear out and are generally replaced every 90 days before failure occurs. Being played so much, the tape decks are known to break down after a relatively short service life. Usually, the motors of the tape decks burn out. The decks typically have a life span without repair or replacement of only about six months. In addition, the tape decks were not always compatible with a given business telephone system, even when that telephone system had on-hold messaging capabilities. This incompatibility usually resulted in the sound quality (i.e., volume level and/or clarity) to be unacceptably poor.
From time to time, a business may want to vary the message being played, for example, playing seasonal music only during a particular season (e.g., Christmas music) and tailoring advertisements to a particular season""s demands. For instance, a business may wish to advertise lawn mowers during the spring and summer and snow plows during winter. In addition, the business may no longer wish to play one of the messages (e.g., an advertisement on a discontinued product line) or may wish to change only a portion of one of the messages (e.g., change the brand name of the product being advertised). With prior on-hold messaging systems, businesses were limited in their ability to have such changes made to their on-hold messages.
While multiple messages can be recorded onto the endless loop cassette tape, all the messages are heard continuously with each message only being heard in the sequence in which it was recorded. In addition, the entire endless loop cassette tape is normally filled with messages (i.e., music, advertisements, etc.) in order to avoid periods of silence. Previously, in order to service the on-hold messaging needs of a business (i.e., to change the on-hold message(s)), a new tape was recorded containing the desired new and old messages. The tape recording process is costly. This cost escalates when messages which do not need changing have to be re-recorded.
Therefore, there is a need for a more versatile and reliable on-hold messaging system, which makes it easier and less expensive to service the on-hold messaging requirements of a business.
The present invention is directed to a more versatile and reliable on-hold messaging system. In embodiments of the present on-hold messaging system, particular messages can be selectively played in whatever order desired and on a continuous basis. In addition, on-hold messaging systems according to embodiments of the invention are less likely to break down or otherwise stop functioning.
The present invention is also directed to an on-hold messaging system which can be more easily and less expensively serviced to satisfy the on-hold messaging requirements of a business. In embodiments of the present on-hold messaging system, new messages can be added and old messages replaced without having to re-record messages which do not need changing.
An on-hold messaging system according to one embodiment of present invention uses an optical disc, preferably a compact disc or CD, as the recording medium for the messages instead of endless loop cassette tapes. The system of this embodiment includes an optical disc player or deck connected to a telephone system having on-hold messaging capabilities. An audio amplifier may be necessary as an interface between the optical disc player and the on-hold-input of the telephone system so that the sound quality (i.e., volume level and clarity) of the message(s) heard by a caller is satisfactory. The sound quality of the on-hold messages produced by previous on-hold messaging systems was inconsistent. This inconsistent sound quality was due, at least in part, to incompatibility between the audio output of the tape player and the on-hold input of the business telephone system. Thus, the audio amplifier is used to match the audio output of the optical disc player to the on-hold input of the telephone system. The type of audio amplifier used depends upon the on-hold input of the particular telephone system.
With an output from the optical disc player of the above-described embodiment connected to the on-hold input of the telephone system, an optical disc having at least one message recorded thereon is played in the optical disc player so that a caller hears the message after being placed on hold. The optical disc can be played continuously with the messages being accessed only when a caller is placed on hold. In order to increase the life span of the optical disc player, a timer can be used to turn the disc player on and off for desired periods of time. Even if played 24 hours a day, optical disc players have been found to have a life span without the need for replacement or repair far longer than the cassette tape players used in prior on-hold messaging systems (i.e., upwards of about four years compared to about six months). If a tuner is used to turn the disc player on and off automatically, the play button will have to be re-set unless the particular disc player used is capable of automatically playing the optical disc after being turned off and then turned on.
A method of servicing an on-hold messaging system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of providing at least one optical disc with at least one message for being played in an on-hold messaging system. The capacity of the on-hold messaging system is changed (i.e., the number of messages that can be played is increased) by recording at least one more message onto the optical disc. This multiple recorded optical disc is then provided for being played on the on-hold messaging system. This method allows additional messages to be added without having to re-record messages that don""t need changing.
A method of servicing an on-hold messaging system according to another embodiment of the invention includes the steps of producing at least a first and a second optical disc with each of the optical discs containing the same message. At least the first optical disc is then provided for being played in the on-hold messaging system. Next, at least one more message is recorded onto the second optical disc. Finally, the second optical disc, having the one or more messages recorded thereon, is provided for being played in the on-hold messaging system. Preferably, the additional message or messages are also recorded onto the first optical disc. If it becomes desirable to add more messages to the on-hold messaging system, the additional message or messages can be recorded onto the first optical disc which is then used to replace the second optical disc. The new message or messages can then be recorded onto the second optical disc, and the above process repeated each time new messages are to be added. Thus, the present invention can enable a library of on-hold messages to be built and accessed as desired. In prior on-hold messaging systems, changes to any of the messages required the prior taped messages to be reproduced along with any new messages.
The above and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the detailed description and appended drawings.